Assam Floods: Death Toll Of Wild Animals At Kaziranga National Park Rises To 129, Drowning Primary Cause

Assam's Kaziranga National Park has lost 129 animals to severe flooding, with 6 rhinos and 100 hog deer among the casualties. The park is facing its worst flooding in recent years.

One-horned rhinoceros at a flood-affected area inside the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, in Morigaon district, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Source: PTI)

Source : PTI

A total of 129 wild animals have died so far in the Kaziranga National Park of Assam due to the severe flooding, an official reported on Sunday. As of Saturday, 114 animals had lost their lives due to the devastating floods, that have impacted the entire Northeastern state.

The casualties include 6 rhinos, 100 hog deer, 2 sambar, and an otter. The primary cause of death was drowning, although two animals were also killed by vehicles while migrating to higher ground, the official said, news agency PTI reported.

Twenty of the animals perished during treatment, the official added. Till now, a total of 96 animals have been rescued, including 84 hog deer, two each of rhinos, sambar, and scops owls, and one each of swamp deer, hare, rhesus macaque, otter, elephant, and jungle cat.

At present, 26 animals are receiving medical care, and 50 others have been released after treatment, the official noted. The park is facing its worst flooding in recent years, with the last major devastation occurring in 2017 when 350 animals died.

Out of the total of 233 camps in the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division, 68 were submerged till Friday evening, the official said.

Forest personnel, who reside in these camps situated within the national park, conduct patrols and other activities to protect the flora and fauna. Additionally, under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), a prohibitory order has been imposed to limit vehicular traffic on NH-715, restricting vehicle speeds to 20-40 km per hour.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma On Floods

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated on Sunday that he looking at finding a solution for the annual flood crisis in the state rather than getting it recognition as a "national problem". He said the Centre has already allocated funds to combat floods, and additional funding will be given for the construction of embankments and other infrastructure to address the crisis.

After visiting flood relief camps in Kamrup district, CM Sarma said, "If the flood is declared a national problem, how will it benefit us? Rather foreigners will stop coming here when they find it out." "Our focus is on finding a solution. We will benefit if some national solution is there," he added, PTI reported.

The Assam Chief Minister stated that there has been significantly less damage to the embankments this year than in the previous years."There has not been much flooding near embankments this time, the problem is on the riverside. In 2004, 300-400 embankments had breached, this time it is about two-three," he claimed.

He mentioned that work on various embankments is already underway, and the Centre is looking to allocate additional funds for these projects as needed."The Centre has given Rs 13,000 crore to us this year in advance. We have not spent much of the money so far," Sarma said, maintaining the state government has adequate funds.